“I need to know if there are resources for someone to bury me with my mom & dad.
How do I make arrangements, what type of arrangements, where do I turn for help?
I have no siblings, no family.”63-year-old bisexual man

News

Addressing the Needs of LGBT Older Adults in San Francisco: Recommendationsfor the Future is the result of a collaboration between the San Francisco LGBT Aging Policy Task Force, the Task Force Research Team, and Caring and Aging with Pride of the Institute for Multigenerational Health at the University of Washington. The survey was completed by 616 LGBT City residents, aged 60 to 92 years old and explores the health, wellness, and service issues facing San Francisco’s LGBT older adults. This report is a follow-up of LGBT Older Adults in San Francisco: Health, Risks, and Resilience – Findings from Caring and Aging with Pride.

Caring and Aging with Pride collaborating with San Francisco’s LGBT Aging Policy Task ForceCaring and Aging with Pride is collaborating with San Francisco’s LGBT Aging Policy Task Force to generate new knowledge about the gaps and service needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender adults 60 years of age and older living in the San Francisco. LGBT Older Adults in San Francisco: Health, Risks, and Resilience Findings from Caring and Aging with Pride provides an initial snapshot of the 295 participants from Caring and Aging with Pride residing in San Francisco. The goal of the report is to provide information that will aid in the development of a community-based survey of the aging needs of culturally diverse LGBT older adults in San Francisco.

White House LGBT Conference on Aging features Caring and Aging with Pride
Dr. Karen Fredriksen-Goldsen was invited by the White House to speak at the first ever White House LGBT Conference on Aging, May 7, 2012 in Miami, FL. She highlighted the findings from The Aging and Health Report – Disparities and Resilience among Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Older Adults, the ground-breaking national study of LGBT older adults and caregivers. U.S. Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL); Raphael Bostic, Assistant Secretary for Policy Development & Research, U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development; and Kathy Greenlee, Administrator, Administration for Community Living, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services also spoke. LGBT older adults face unique circumstances such as fear of discrimination in mainstream services, the absence of legal protections for their loved ones and, often, the lack of children to help them.

Landmark LGBT Aging and Health Report Available!Caring and Aging with Pride released the full report from our ground-breaking national study of LGBT older adults and caregivers: The Aging and Health Report – Disparities and Resilience among Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Older Adults. Professor Fredriksen-Goldsen and colleagues reveal key aging and health disparities impacting LGBT older adults. Over 2,500 LGBT adults ranging in age from 50 to 95 participated across the nation. This report is sponsored by AARP, The Gerontological Society of America, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, and CSWE Gero-Ed Center.

Executive Summary presented at Congressional BriefingFindings from Caring and Aging with Pride’sThe Health Report — Disparities and Resilience among Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Older Adults: Executive Summary was presented at a congressional briefing in Washington, DC on November 9, 2010. The briefing was sponsored by Members of Congress including Tammy Baldwin, Barney Frank, Jared Polis, and David Cicilline. The well-attended briefing featured Dr. Karen Fredriksen-Goldsen, who shared the results of the ground-breaking Caring and Aging with Pride project and was joined by Kathy Greenlee, Assistant Secretary for Aging, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; Michael Adams, Executive Director, Services and Advocacy for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual & Transgender Elders (SAGE); and, Jeff Krehely, Director of the LGBT Research and Communications Project, Center for American Progress.

National LGBT Elder Housing Summit cites reportLGBT Elder Housing Summit was held on December 7, 2011 inWashington, DC. The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in partnership with the Administration on Aging, Department of Health and Human Services, and the National Center for Lesbian Rights co-hosted a summit to address the housing crisis among LGBT older adults. The Aging and Health Report – Disparities and Resilience among Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Older Adults was cited numerous times at the summit. LGBT older adults face unique circumstances in housing such as fear of discrimination and, often, the lack of children to help them. In the report, the participants identified senior housing as the most important service in the LGBT community to meet the needs of older adults.

Preliminary Findings released at Aging in America ConferenceCaring and Aging with Pride’s release of The Health Report — Resilience and Disparities among Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Older Adults: Preliminary Findings was celebrated at the American Society on Aging’s annual conference, Aging in America, on April 27, 2011 in San Francisco. The well-attended event featured Karen Fredriksen-Goldsen who shared the results of the ground-breaking Caring and Aging with Pride project, a national study of over 2,500 LGBT older adults and caregivers. Also presented was Stu Maddux’s critically acclaimed documentary Gen Silent which profiles the lives of six LGBT older adults and caregivers. The event was hosted by LAIN (LGBT Aging Issues Network), Caring and Aging with Pride (University of Washington), LGBT Aging Project (Boston), SAGE (New York), and MAD STU Media.

Sponsors Support Caring and Aging with PrideAARP, The Gerontological Society of America, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and CSWE Gero-Ed Center are proud sponsors of The Health Report — Resilience and Disparities among Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Older Adults: Preliminary Findings released by Caring and Aging with Pride. The report highlights the lived experiences of 2,560 LGBT adults ranging in age from 50 to 95 years old who participated across the nation in the ground-breaking study.

Congratulations Raffle Winners!
Caring and Aging with Pride is proud to announce our raffle winners! On January 31st, three winners were randomly selected from the participants that completed the raffle participation form, which was sent with the survey. Our lucky winners are: Ronald M. (SAGE New York), Caroline M. (Center on Halsted in Chicago), and Jim D. (New Leaf in San Francisco). Each of the winners received a $500 VISA gift certificate from Caring and Aging with Pride. Caroline M. said, “Since I was a little girl, no one has ever won anything in my family. This is so exciting!” Ron M. commented, “This is wonderful news!” Congratulations Ronald, Caroline and Jim – thank you for being part of our ground-breaking project.

LGBT community agencies across the nation join Caring and Aging with PrideAgencies in Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Milwaukee, Minnesota, New York, San Francisco, St. Louis and Seattle are partners in this landmark project studying the current aging and health needs of older adults in the LGBT community. Their participation will make a difference for the success of this project.

Caring and Aging with Pride featured in NASW News
Caring and Aging with Pride and the project’s Principal Investigator, Karen Fredriksen-Goldsen were featured in the April 2010 issue of National Association of Social Workers newspaper.